summer 2012 volume 37, number 2 - university of north ...office of alumni and community relations,...

Summer 2012VOLUME 37, NUMBER 2www.ndmedicine.org

2 NORTH DAKOTA MEDICINE Summer 2012

NORTH DAKOTA MEDICINE Summer 2012 3

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POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to:ND Medicine Address Correction UND School of Medicine and Health SciencesOffice of Alumni and Community Relations, Attn: Kristen Peterson501 North Columbia Rd. Stop 9037, Grand Forks, ND 58202-9037 e-mail: [email protected]: 701-777-4305

NORTH DAKOTA MEDICINE is available online at www.ndmedicine.org

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND HEALTH SCIENCES

ROBERT O. KELLEY, President, University of North Dakota

JOSHUA WYNNE, Vice President for Health Affairs and Dean, School of Medicine and Health Sciences

EDITOR Denis MacLeodWRITERS Christen Furlong, Kristine Henke, Denis MacLeod, Dave Miedema, Juan Pedraza, Jessica Sobolik CONTRIBUTORS Kristen PetersonGRAPHIC DESIGN Laura Cory, John Lee, Victoria Swift PHOTOGRAPHY Laura Cory, Cullen Donohue, Michael K. Smith, Wanda WeberCOVER ART Wanda Weber

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WEBMASTER Eric Walter

NORTH DAKOTA MEDICINE (ISSN 0888-1456; USPS 077-680) is published four times a year (March, June,September, December) by the University of North DakotaSchool of Medicine and Health Sciences, Room 1106, 501 N. Columbia Road Stop 9037, Grand Forks, ND 58202-9037. Periodical postage paid at Grand Forks, ND.

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FEATURESTwo Your Health 10 Joycelyn Dorscher Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Admissions Raymond Goldsteen Founding Director of UND’s Master of Public Health Program

Super Computers 14 The School’s statistical duo make sense of the numbers for students, faculty, and researchers.

Federal Rural Health Outreach Grants— Reaching Out in North Dakota 18 Federal investment in cooperative North Dakota programs leads to local health solutions.

Band of Doctors 20 India Ink, a band of mostly medical students, makes its mark on the local music scene.

Congratulations, Graduates! 36 See photos of the School’s graduates in Parting Shots

DEPARTMENTS Dean’s Letter 4 News Briefs 6 Student Profile - Izaak Schafer 22 Alumni Notes 26 Alumni Profile - Donald Hensrud 28 Spotlight: Internal Medicine 32 Spotlight: Microbiology and Immunology 33 Gift Planning 34 In Memoriam 35

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DEAN’S LETTER

Room for Growth

In my last Dean’s Letter, I outlined howthe School is evolving over time, with ashift in our educational, research, andservice functions from an emphasis onthe individual (whether provider,researcher, or patient) to an emphasison teams (of providers or researchers)and populations of people at risk ofdisease. Since the School serves allNorth Dakotans, we have been focusedin particular on the role that the Schoolshould play in helping to develop anoptimal health care delivery system forthe state, now and in the future. Acritical component of that approach hasbeen the development of a strategicplan that focuses on health providerworkforce preparation and development.Prepared in conjunction with the School

of Medicine and Health Sciences(SMHS) Advisory Council, the plan isgrounded in four basic principles—reduce disease burden, retain more ofour provider graduates, train moreproviders, and work to improve theefficiency of our health care deliverysystem. One of the essential pillars ofour plan—expansion of class size—is inprogress. We’ll welcome eightadditional medical students and 15health sciences students this summer,and the expansion of residencies inNorth Dakota—all with a rural focus—iswell underway. An essential componentof our class size expansion is acommensurate expansion of ourphysical plant. Since the state investedabout $1.5 million in 1985 to acquirethe old St. Michael’s Hospital in GrandForks and convert it into our currentmain educational building, limitedsubsequent investments have beenmade in the School’s educationalfacilities. However, we are extremelygrateful for the Legislature’s generousinvestment in the Center for FamilyMedicine clinic building in Bismarck,which is just in the process of opening.Thanks to financial support authorizedduring the last session of the NorthDakota Legislature, JLG Architects inconjunction with the national designfirm of Perkins+Will recentlycompleted a space study intended toassess the ability of the currentinstructional facilities to accommodatethe current and planned class sizeexpansion. First, the consultantsconcluded we already are optimallyutilizing our current space, exceedingnational benchmarks for usage. Second,the consultants concluded we clearlywill need additional facility space tohandle the class size expansion alreadyunderway. Finally, they concluded that


it would be inadvisable to try todevelop additional educational spacesimply by renovating the currentbuilding, as various structural andarchitectural features of the buildingmake it ill advised to invest additionalresources into it.Rather, theconsultantsproposed threeoptions—acombination ofpartial renovationof the currentbuilding withadditional adjacentconstruction ofabout 80,000square feet of newspace at anestimated cost of$38.5 million;renovation andconstruction ofabout 169,000square feet of newspace at anestimated cost of$68.3 million; anda completely newinstructionalbuilding of about377,000 square feetalong withrepurposing of thecurrent building at an estimated cost of$124 million. The space report hasbeen endorsed by the SMHS AdvisoryCouncil and was presented to the StateBoard of Higher Education as well asthe Interim Health Services Committeeof the Legislature this past April. Theconstruction of more space at theSchool is the No. 1 capital constructionpriority of UND and UND PresidentRobert O. Kelley.

I am delighted to report that Dr.Joycelyn Dorscher has joined us fromthe University of Minnesota as our newassociate dean for Student Affairs andAdmissions. I am pleased that Dr.Dorscher has accepted my invitation tobe our speaker for the 2012 White CoatCeremony, in which we officiallywelcome the first-year medical students

into the community of healers as futurephysicians. I also am pleased that Dr.Raymond Goldsteen of the StateUniversity of New York at Stony Brookhas joined us as the founding director ofthe Master of Public Health Program at

UND. The firststudents in theprogram, which weare undertaking inconjunction withNorth Dakota StateUniversity, willarrive in September.

And finally,graduation this pastMay was aparticularlymemorableexperience. Notonly did wegraduate 61medical students,47 physical therapystudents, 85medical laboratoryscience students, 32occupationaltherapy students, 4athletic trainers, 55physician assistants,and 2 graduatestudents but wealso had the greatprivilege of

welcoming Judy DeMers back tocampus to give the graduation addressat commencement. Our graduatingmedical students did quite well in theresidency match, and the majority areoff to their first choice. We certainlywish all of them the best!

Joshua Wynne, MD, MBA, MPHUND Vice President for Health Affairs and Dean

Congrats Grads!61 medical students

47 physical therapy students

85 medical laboratory science students

32 occupational therapy students

4 athletic trainers

55 physician assistants

and

2 graduate students


NEWS BRIEFS

Gray elected to AmericanPsychological Association’sRural Health CommitteeJacque Gray, PhD, was elected to theAmerican PsychologicalAssociation's Committee on RuralHealth. Gray is an associate professorand director of the NationalIndigenous Elder Justice Initiative in

the Center for Rural Health at the University of NorthDakota's School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Gray isone of eight members and will serve a two-year term. Toread more, please visit http://bit.ly/Hp5JXe.

Maliske wins AURA AwardBen Maliske from Beulah, N.Dak.,won an Advanced UndergraduateResearch Award from the NorthDakota Experimental Program toStimulate Competitive Research.Maliske is a student in the Departmentof Anatomy and Cell Biology. Hisfaculty mentor is Bryon Grove.

Jacque Gray, PhD

Antioxidant may disruptAlzheimer’s disease processAmsterdam, NL—Alzheimer's disease(AD) is now the sixth leading causeof death among Americans, affectingnearly 1 in 8 people over the age of65. There is currently no treatmentthat alters the course of this disease.However, an increasing amount ofevidence suggests that changes in the

way the body handles iron and other metals like copperand zinc may start years before the onset of AD symptoms.A new study shows that reducing iron levels in bloodplasma may protect the brain from changes related to AD.To read more, please visit http://bit.ly/IK2NkJ.

Othman Ghribi, PhD

University of North Dakota School ofMedicine and Health Sciences Doctor ofMedicine Class of 2012 Award WinnersGraduating medical students and faculty of the School wererecognized at the UND School of Medicine and HealthSciences MD Class of 2012 commencement awardsceremony on Sunday, May 13. For a complete list ofawardees, please visit http://bit.ly/K3v1JH.

The 32nd Annual Frank Low Research Day (April 12) was asuccess. Participation by students and faculty of the Schoolof Medicine and Health Sciences was at a high level. UNDVice President for Health Affairs and Dean of the School ofMedicine and Health Sciences Joshua Wynne provides

ongoing support of this important annual event; Senior Associate Dean Gwen Halaas delivered opening remarks atthe oral session, and Dr. John Watt served as chair of the af-ternoon oral session.

To read more, please visit http://bit.ly/HNdDa7.

32nd Annual Frank Low Research Day winners named

Ben Maliske


NEWS BRIEFS

The University of North Dakota School of Medicine andHealth Sciences conferred the Doctor of Medicine (MD)degree during commencement ceremonies Sunday, May13, at the Chester Fritz Auditorium on the UND campus inGrand Forks. Sixty-one degree candidates were awardedtheir medical doctorate.

Judy DeMers, RN, BSN, MEd, associate professoremerita of family and community medicine andlongstanding former associate dean for Student Affairs andAdmissions at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences

delivered the keynote address titled "The Meaning ofSuccess." She has served North Dakota and UND as anurse, health educator, and administrator. In addition, sherepresented her constituents with distinction in both theNorth Dakota Senate and House of Representatives. TheNorth Dakota Women's Network named DeMers Womanof the Year in October 2011.

For a complete list of graduates, please see thecommencement program at http://bit.ly/KoJ4sU.

UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences presents Doctor of Medicine Degrees

Eken garners HippocraticDignity AwardRandy S. Eken, MPA, associate deanfor Administration and Finance at theUniversity of North Dakota School ofMedicine and Health Sciences, hasreceived the Hippocratic DignityAward. To read more, please visithttp://bit.ly/L3Q914.

Johnson earns KupchellaPreventive Medicine andWellness AwardEric L. Johnson, MD, assistantprofessor in the Department ofFamily and Community Medicine atthe University of North DakotaSchool of Medicine and HealthSciences, has received the Charles E.Kupchella Preventive Medicine and Wellness Award. Toread more, please visit http://bit.ly/JR6f24.

Eric L. Johnson, MD Randy S. Eken, MPA


NEWS BRIEFS

UND School of Medicine and HealthSciences recognizes volunteer facultyThe University of North Dakota (UND) School of Medicineand Health Sciences presented the Dean’s SpecialRecognition Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Faculty tothe following individuals during commencementceremonies on Sunday, May 13. • William M. Bellas, DO, clinical associate professor of

pediatrics, Fargo.• Karen R. Brown, MD, clinical assistant professor of

pediatrics, alumnus (MD Class of 1993), Bismarck.• Lisa Francis, MD, clinical assistant professor of internal

medicine, Bismarck.• Aaron M. Garman, MD, clinical assistant professor of

family and community medicine, alumnus (MD Class of1996), Beulah.

• Thomas L. Herzog, MD, clinical assistant professor ofobstetrics and gynecology, alumnus (MD Class of1979), Fargo.

• Michael D. Kaspari, RN, clinical instructor of clinicalneurosciences, Fargo.

• Gaylord J. Kavlie, MD, clinical associate professor ofsurgery, alumnus (MD Class of 1979), Bismarck.

• Jacinta T. Klindworth, MD, clinical assistant professorof family and community medicine, Beulah.

• Nadim Koleilat, MD, clinical associate professor ofsurgery, Bismarck.

• Kathleen M. Perkerewicz, MD, clinical assistantprofessor of obstetrics and gynecology, alumnus (MDClass of 1999), Bismarck.

• James B. Ragland, MD, clinical professor of clinicalneurosciences, Bismarck.

• E. Dexter Scott, MD, FRCS, clinical instructor ofsurgery, Minot.

• Jeanette M. Viney, MD, clinical professor of surgery,Bismarck.As a community-based medical school, the UND

School of Medicine and Health Sciences relies on almost1,000 part-time or volunteer faculty in over 30 communitiesthroughout the state to educate medical students andresidents. Two out of three of the state’s physicians assistthe school in teaching the patient-centered curriculum andconducting performance-based assessments of theprofessional competence of the 252 students enrolled in thefour-year Doctor of Medicine program.

Jillian Jacobson presents her research at the Scholarly ProjectPoster Display.

UND Physician Assistant Class of 2012 Hooding and Commencement

PA Program’s Scholarly Project PosterSession was a successWinners have been announced for the Scholarly ProjectPoster Display hosted by the University of North DakotaPhysician Assistant (PA) Program on May 1 at the School ofMedicine and Health Sciences. Best Scholarly ProjectAward winners were selected by a consensus of their peers:• First place—Sheryl Alexander, Florence, Mont. • Second place—Matthew Massmann, Winger, Minn.

The following 2012 PA graduates earned scholarships fromthe program:• Matthew Massmann—Katherine Maryann Rasmussen

Scholarship ($2,000). The Rasmussen endowmentprovides scholarships to one or more high achievingand qualified students enrolled within the PhysicianAssistant Program at the UND School of Medicine andHealth Sciences. Recipients shall be of high moralcharacter and demonstrate the potential to leadsuccessful lives and careers. Massmann will beemployed at Riverview Health in Crookston, Minn.

• Jeffrey Moberg, Grand Forks—Mickey KnutsonScholarship ($800). The Knutson endowment providesscholarships to UND students, allowing them theopportunity to complete their studies and pursuecareers in the health field. The Knutson endowment isawarded to a graduate who will be working in primarycare in a rural or underserved area. Moberg will beemployed at the Tioga Medical Center in Tioga, N.D.

The University of North Dakota School of Medicine andHealth Sciences conferred the Master of Physician AssistantStudies (MPAS) degree during commencement ceremonieson Saturday, May 12, in the Alerus Center. Fifty-fivecandidates received the degree. They are the 38th class to

graduate from the UND Physician Assistant (PA) Program.The graduates participated in a special hooding ceremonyon May 11. The medical school has more than 1,600graduates from the PA program. To read more and for acomplete list of graduates, please visit http://bit.ly/IMeWG6.


NEWS BRIEFS

Myra J. Quanrud, MD, clinical associate professor ofpediatrics at the University of North Dakota (UND) Schoolof Medicine and Health Sciences Southeast Campus inFargo, was honored with the prestigious Leonard TowHumanism in Medicine Faculty Award at the medical

school's commencement on May 13. Christopher P. Irmen,MD, a 2012 UND medical school graduate, received theTow award for graduating medical students. To read more,please visit http://bit.ly/KmOgOt.

UND doctors receive Humanism in Medicine Awards

Dean Joshua Wynne, Christopher Irmen, and Elizabeth BlixtDean Joshua Wynne, Myra Quanrud, and Meredith Reisenauer

UND lauded for percentage of gradschoosing family medicineTen medical schools that have contributed the most to thepipeline of family physicians were honored when theAmerican Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) presentedits Top Ten Awards during the Society of Teachers of FamilyMedicine Annual Spring Conference on April 27 in Seattle.The awards recognize schools that, during a three-yearperiod, graduate the greatest percentage of students whochoose first-year family medicine residency positions.

The University of North Dakota (UND) School ofMedicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) is one of the topmedical schools in the country for producing familymedicine physicians, with 18.1 percent. The overall U.S.match rate for family medicine this year is 8.4 percent,according to the AAFP, and thus the SMHS produces morethan twice the family physicians per class as the typicalmedical school in the United States. The other regionalschool recognized by the AAFP was the Sanford School ofMedicine of the University of South Dakota, with 15.2percent; the University of Minnesota was not in the top tenthis year. To read more, please visit http://bit.ly/ISregh.

Larson receives Achievement Award fromSociety of ToxicologyJennifer Larson was awarded the Women in ToxicologyGraduate Student Achievement Award at the 2012 Societyof Toxicology (SOT) meeting held in San Francisco, Calif.The Bismarck, N.D., native is a fifth-year graduate studentin the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at theUniversity of North Dakota School of Medicine and HealthSciences. Jane R. Dunlevy, PhD, is Larson's faculty mentor.To read more, please visit http://bit.ly/K8DXkl.

Jane R. Dunlevy, PhD, and Jennifer Larson


Joycelyn Dorscher, associate dean for Student Affairs and Admissions, and Raymond Goldsteen, director of the Master of Public HealthProgram, contribute critical expertise to the School.

By Juan Pedraza

Two Your HealthMeet the newest members of the School’s leadership team.


oycelyn Dorscher, MD, earlier this year accepted the position of associate dean for Student Affairs and Admissions. An enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, Dorscher brings the vital

perspective of diversity and her experience as a practicingfamily medicine physician to the table.

“The UND School of Medicine and Health Scienceshas such a strong reputation,” Dorscher said. “I am honoredto be a member of the administrative team, where coreinterests are the success of students andthe needs of communities.”

Dorscher joined UND from theUniversity of Minnesota Duluth, where shewas director of the Center of AmericanIndian and Minority Health and anassistant professor in the Department ofFamily Medicine and Community Health.

Dorscher spent her early life in NorthDakota; her parents Conrad and Lucille(Belgarde) Dorscher grew up in the state,and she still has many family membersthroughout North Dakota.

“Dr. Dorscher combines a passion for studenteducation with a quest for excellence that will resonatewith our students” said Joshua Wynne, MD, MBA, MPH,UND vice president for health affairs and dean of theSchool of Medicine and Health Sciences. “She is aneloquent and seasoned clinician-educator. We are delightedthat we were able to recruit her to the School.”

Dorscher earned her Doctor of Medicine from theUniversity of Minnesota School of Medicine. In addition toher MD degree, she holds a Bachelor of Arts degree inMedical Technology from the College of St. Scholastica inDuluth. Dorscher maintains an active clinical practice tokeep her close to patient care, most recently with the MilleLacs Band of Objiwe Outpatient Clinic in East Lake, Minn.

She chose UND as her new home because of itsreputation.

“As an institution, UND works very hard to choose notonly the best and the brightest students for this educationalopportunity but also those individuals who represent thefuture professionals who will one day fill the health care needsfor North Dakota (rural and urban areas) as well as NativeAmerican communities across the nation,” Dorscher said.

“To support the development of these future healthprofessionals requires that they be nurtured in a way thatthey feel supported through this difficult educational processwhile at the same time assisted in their professionaldevelopment so that they can take their place in society as

well-prepared, well-educated, dedicated, and professionalphysicians,” she said.

As a leader in a broad array of public health organizationsand foundations in the Upper Midwest, Dorscher providedher medical expertise to help prevent cancer, heart disease,and tobacco abuse, as well as to improve child care andAmerican Indian health. She is active in medical research,with a focus on American Indian communities.

Dorscher last year won the YWCA Women ofDistinction Award, which recognizeswomen who embody the mission ofeliminating racism, empowering women,and promoting peace, justice, freedom,and dignity for all. The University ofMinnesota honored her in 2007 with thePresident’s Outstanding Service Award forher local, state, and national efforts topromote diversity in medical education.

Dorscher has held appointmentsat St. Luke’s Hospital System (Duluth) asan urgent care practitioner. She was also

a member of the At-Risk Population Project Tribal MeetingAdvisory Committee and is cochair of the Fond du LacReservation Cancer Team among many other appointmentsand memberships.

Her work as a youth mentor has won her acclaim, too.Dorscher won the 2005 Minority Access National RoleModels, Minority Access Inc., Las Vegas, Nevada, Awardfor Exemplary Achievements in Motivating, Counseling andGuiding Others. Minority Access, Inc. is a non-profiteducational organization that supports individuals,institutions, federal, state, and local government agencies,and various corporations to diversify campuses andworksites by improving the recruitment, retention, andenhancement of minorities.

Her current successes were signaled early. Dorscherwas the 1994 Intern of the Year at St. John’s Family PracticeResidency, voted by nonphysician hospital personnel to be thefirst-year resident with whom they like working with the most.

Dorscher was cochair of the Duluth American IndianCommission for three years with Michelle Gordon and amember of the Commission for a total of eight years. TheCommission’s primary goal is to act as an advisory group tothe mayor of the city on issues affecting the AmericanIndian community, the largest minority population in Duluth.

JJoycelyn DorscherAssociate Dean for Student Affairs and Admissions

”“The UND School

of Medicine and Health Sciences has such a

strong reputation.


With his freshly minted diploma,Raymond Goldsteen launched a careerat age 17 as a medical technician in aPhiladelphia hospital. He put eightyears into that job before beginning hisacademic career at Columbia Universityin New York, where he majored inhistory. Later, his early health careexperiences would draw him intopublic health and academia.

Goldsteen is the new—and first—director of the Master of Public HealthProgram at UND. He comes to UNDfrom the State University of New York(SUNY) at Stony Brook, where he wasprofessor of preventive medicine andfounding director of the GraduateProgram in Public Health.

The North Dakota State Board ofHigher Education approved a newMaster of Public Health Program to beoffered jointly by North Dakota StateUniversity and the University of NorthDakota in November 2010. Fullimplementation of this collaborativeacademic program occurs this fall.

“My work in the clinical side ofhospitals exposed me to a number ofproblems in medicine that could beaddressed through public health,” saidGoldsteen, an authority on MPHprogram development and managementand the coauthor of a criticallyacclaimed text Introduction to the U.S.Health Care System, now in its 7thedition, and Introduction to PublicHealth, both published by SpringerPublishing.

“It became clear to me during thistime that I wanted to pursue a career inpublic health because I thought that itcould make a difference in the numberof people who needed medical care aswell as maintain and improve the healthof people overall,” Goldsteen said.

Goldsteen was first drawn into amajor public health crisis when theThree Mile Island nuclear power stationsuffered a partial meltdown.

“I was ready to begin mydissertation research when the accidentoccurred, and it inevitably became thesubject of my dissertation after Iinitiated a study of the event’s impacton surrounding communities andpopulations,” said Goldsteen, whocowrote a major study of thecommunity health repercussions of theThree Mile Island accident shortlyafterward. This book is still in print. Hisresearch was also the basis of the reporton the accident’s behavioral and mentalhealth effects on nearby residents,which was prepared by the President’sCommission on the Accident at ThreeMile Island.

Later, a three-year stint as auniformed officer of the U.S. PublicHealth Service in Baltimore solidifiedGoldsteen’s commitment to publichealth. From there he dove into a careerin the academic side of public health—amove that included the public healthprogram at the University of Illinois.He’s been in the academy ever since.

“I’ve seen up close several keychallenges in health care—first, Inoticed that we’d see the same peoplecoming into the hospital over and over,being treated for the same healthproblems,” Goldsteen said. “That’s noway to run a health care system. It’sexpensive, and with so much moneygoing into treatment for the samepeople and the same conditions, wereduce funding for other productiveactivities in our economy. And for theindividuals themselves, there istremendous cost in terms of financialwell-being and quality of life. These aresystemic problems.”

“When you’ve got systemicproblems such as we have in our healthcare system, you need a systemsapproach to solutions,” said Goldsteen.“Public health emphasizes systemsthinking and primary prevention ofhealth problems in partnership with the

Raymond GoldsteenFounding Director of UND’s Master of PublicHealth Program

”“We’re looking to become thebest program with a rural health care focus—a relatively small programwith a national reputation.


medical community and others.” In his role as director, Goldsteen

will be raising awareness about thevalue of public health and the healthproblems that can be addressed througha public health approach.

So why move from a successfulMPH program at SUNY Stony Brook—with 25,000 students in a cosmopolitanarea of about 3 million people—toNorth Dakota, with less than one-thirdthat population?

“I was attracted to the University ofNorth Dakota School of Medicine andHealth Sciences because of its nationalreputation in family medicine and ruralhealth,” said Goldsteen. His wife Karen,a PhD and longtime academiccollaborator with her husband, hasreceived an appointment to the UNDCenter for Rural Health.

“People of North Dakota arerelatively healthy compared to residentsof other states, and I was interested tofind out why and discover ways toimprove it even further and perhapsexport this knowledge outside thestate,” Goldsteen said.

“I was also very impressed thatDean Joshua Wynne holds, in additionto his MD and MBA degrees, a Masterof Public Health,” Goldsteen said.

Learning that President RobertKelley has knowledge of public healthfrom former positions as well made itclear to Goldsteen that the UNDleadership understands the value of apublic health program.

Additionally, Goldsteen says, it wasclear that the university system’sleadership and policy makers inBismarck saw the need for an academicpublic health program to serve thepractical needs of public health in thestate.

“We expect that this program willattract many professionals, includingphysicians, physician assistants,advanced practice nurses and otherhealth professionals, MBAs, law schoolstudents, and others to joint degrees,such as the MBA/MPH and, of course,in our medical school, the MD/MPH,”Goldsteen said. “These people willenrich their fields and careers with

exposure to public health knowledgeand practice.”

Among his broad menu of duties asdirector, Goldsteen holds a teachingappointment.

“I plan to teach, with DonaldWarne, the MPH director at NDSU, theintroductory public health course thisfall,” Goldsteen said.

Goldsteen also plans to continue anintensive program of research.

“My basic public health interestnow is early intervention in thenewborn-to-five-year-old population,”Goldsteen said. “Early interventionfocuses on primary prevention, andthat’s by far the best investment.”

Ultimately, Goldsteen said, it’sabout putting the new Master of PublicHealth Program on the map.

“We’re expecting to become thebest MPH program with a rural healthfocus—a small, high quality programwith a national reputation,” Goldsteensaid. “I think that as a result of thecollaboration between the two stateuniversities, we’ll advance the field andimprove health in rural populationsin the northern Great Plains.”

Raymond Goldsteen

Joycelyn Dorscher


Survey design, collection, analysis, and reporting enable the School’s leaders to “make smarter decisions, solve problems, and improveoutcomes.”

Super ComputersThe School’s statistical duo make sense of the numbers for students, faculty, and researchers.

For statisticians Clint Hosford and KurtZhang, there’s nothing casual about“how’s it going?”

Hosford, who works for theSchool’s Office of Medical Education,and Zhang, a bioinformatics expert andbiostatistician in the Department of

Pathology, focus their professionalexpertise on accurate answers to thatquestion.

Hosford works with data mostlyderived from surveys of students andteachers and student data such as testscores. Once he’s satisfied with the

By Juan Pedraza


analytical results of a particularquestionnaire or survey, he reports tothe people who decide about the contentand delivery of courses taken by thefuture physicians enrolled at the SMHS.

“This job is first about collecting alot of data—from students, fromteachers,” said Hosford, a graduate ofUND’s PhD program in researchmethodologies. It’s painstaking work,and people like Hosford, with theintense preparation required for thenumbers-oriented PhD he has, are theones who do it.

From all of that data flow, Hosfordproduces reports for the School’sleadership so that they can tweak—orrevamp—medical education programsas needed to keep UND at the peak ofits educational form.

“Primarily, what I do is geared toprogram evaluation, which is differentfrom academic assessment. This meansthat I collect a lot of data related to ourmedical education program,” saidHosford, who spent nearly 10 years as apracticing physical therapist at ahospital in Williston, N.Dak.

Designing the survey is just asimportant as collecting results.

“I design surveys so that theyaccurately measure what medicalstudents are thinking about the coursesthey take during their four-year programof study at the UND School of Medicineand Health Sciences,” Hosford said.“I’m responsible for collecting,analyzing, and reporting these data; thereports give various stakeholders insightinto how things are going for UNDmedical students. We get a lot of thisfeedback from students through surveysand questionnaires.”

Of key importance are theevaluations of lecturers—especially first-time lecturers—and facilitators for PCL(patient-centered learning) groups.

“In all of this—whether we’re doingformative or summative evaluations—we’re looking for feedback fromstudents, and at the same time, we getperformance data that tell us howstudents are doing,” said Hosford, who,in addition to his analytical duties alsoteaches graduate statistics courses. “We

all want to know that what they arelearning is what we think we’re teachingthem. We’re always interested inimproving our performance in this areawithout disrupting the flow for ourstudents.”

The difference between formativeand summative evaluations (orassessments) boils down to an analogywritten by Robert Stake, a nationallyknown University of Illinois expert oneducation evaluation: “When the cooktastes the soup, that’s formative; when theguests taste the soup, that’s summative.”

Hosford earned his PhD at the UNDCollege of Education and HumanDevelopment in research methodologieswith an emphasis in statistics.

Today’s statistician, he notes, doesa lot more online.

“In fact, I worked with softwaredeveloper Eric Walters in the School’sInformation Resources Department todevelop a proprietary Web-basedsurvey tool that streamlines the data-collection process,” Hosford said. “Weget a lot of information about ourmedical program direct from studentskeystroking answers to surveys. Thissoftware automates a lot of the surveywork—students and teachers both usethe same system to fill out our surveys.

It’s automated and even does theanalysis so that we can produce reportsmore efficiently.”

No matter how the data aregathered, analyzed, and reported, theresults are routinely compared year toyear, across campuses, to accreditationstandards, or national trends.

“Thus not only are we looking atwhat we do internally, comparisonshelp us figure out where we standnationally, and we can use the results tomake smarter decisions, solve problems,and improve outcomes,” said Hosford,who describes himself as an applied, asopposed to a theoretical, statistician.

“What I do is work on a statisticalwindow into what we do,” Hosfordsaid. “It’s all about constantly evaluating and improving the educationof future physicians.”

Kurt Zhang

Clint Hosford


Statistics in service of researchWhile Hosford works the evaluative sideof the statistical service, Zhang is on thedata-processing side, working withresearchers in the School and acrosscampus. He works mostly with an ultra-fast computer purchased by the NorthDakota IDeA (Institutional DevelopmentAward) Network of Biomedical ResearchExcellence (ND INBRE), based at theSchool of Medicine and Health SciencesDepartment of Pathology.

“I spend most of my service timedoing computing work, basically runningthe University’s supercomputer, which isright down the hall from my office,” saidZhang, who hails from Changsha, thecapital city of Hunan province in China.He also works with bioinformatics, arelated and equally complex profession.

“Well, the computer is not really‘super,’ but it’s very powerful,” saidZhang, who got an undergraduate degreein biology in China and a master’sdegree in computer science and a PhD intheoretical statistics from Kansas StateUniversity–Manhattan. “Our computerhas 32 cores and can simultaneously run64 operations with 500 gigabytes ofmemory—I’d say that it’s the mostpowerful computer on campus rightnow.”

Good thing, too, because researchdemands for fast computing increasedaily, especially in the biosciences, themain focus of research at the SMHS—onereason why UND has already authorizedthe purchase of an even faster computerthat’ll be installed in the soon-to-be-builtstate data center on campus.

“I originally came out of biology,biochemistry, and molecular genetics,but since grade school, I’ve always beeninterested in math,” said Zhang. “So Ideveloped an interest in usingcomputational statistics and computerpower to solve biological problems. Myprofessional focus has been in bothbioinformatics and biostatistics.”

Briefly, bioinformatics is computerscience and information technologyapplied to biology and medicine.Biostatistics is the application of statisticsto biology and medicine; it includes thedesign of biological and medical

experiments and the interpretation ofexperimental results.

“A big problem for biomedicalresearchers—and other scientists, too—isfirst how to design an effectiveexperiment and then how to analyze thedata produced by the experiment,”Zhang said. “Biological research isgenerating data faster than computingpower can keep up, and researchers lackthe time and expertise to make sense ofthose data. In fact, the data deluge is thelimiting factor for most researchers.”

What’s the big deal?It adds up to several key and closelyrelated questions: how to collect,analyze, and interpret data.

“A major challenge for researchers isthat journals increasingly are demandingthat publications include robust andverifiable statistical support for researchclaims—you have to demonstratestatistical significance of your findings.”

So, Zhang says, researchersrecognize that accurate and thoroughstatistical analysis is essential to thesuccess of the research project, and tothe successful publication of their results.

“So collaboration is a major part ofmy job, whether I’m helping a researcherdesign his or her research project orgrant application, or whether I’mworking with someone on my ownresearch,” said Zhang, who isprofessionally competent in more than10 computer languages and fluent inseveral, including C—considered thefastest language—and R, a statistics-focused language.

“Researchers today need statisticiansto design experiments or clinical trials sothat they get useful results,” Zhang said.“For example, a physician needs tocalculate the optimum number ofpatients to recruit for a clinical trial. Iwould help that physician both beforeand after the trial, sort of a quality controlprocess. The before is actually the moreimportant phase of experiment design—ifthe design is faulty, then it’s nearlyimpossible to get good data. Flaweddesign leads to failed experiments.”


Thus, Zhang said, it’s critical forresearchers to include a statistician intheir planning before the research starts.

“Even before you submit your grantproposal,” he said. “After that, if youdon’t have a good design, it may beimpossible to salvage an experiment orclinical trial. Today, scientists from all ofour departments come to us for help:pathology (where my lab is located),biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology,and therapeutics, biology, and now,atmospheric sciences and others acrosscampus.”

People come to Zhang for help bigand small.

“Some people come here withquestions that are easy to answer: they’relooking for the proper test procedure orto set up an experiment. Those kinds ofchallenges I can mostly deal withquickly,” Zhang said. “At the other endof the spectrum, I get questions,especially involving genetics, that cantake substantial time. We’re talkingexperiments that generate terabytes ofdata—that’s thousands and thousands ofgigabytes, or trillions of bytes! Some ofthese data take a month or more toprocess, working all 32 processors in oursupercomputer 24-7. One recentexample—we found a code error towardthe end of the run and had to start allover again.”

Zhang said the pressure to boostcomputing power is intense.

“The emerging science of next-generation gene sequencing is incrediblycomplex; for example, in analyzing shortsequences of the genome from cancerpatients, just trying to find therelationship between the gene mutationand the disease requires a lot ofcomputing power,” Zhang said. “I have100 terabytes of data on my server, andI’m constantly purchasing more disks.”

The challenge is that currentcomputing science is close to thephysical limits of data-processing speedeven as biodata accumulate at an ever-increasing clip.

Moore’s law is at work.“It was developed by Gordon

Moore, a cofounder of Intel, who saidthat the number of components in an

integrated circuit doubles every 18months to two years,” Zhang said.

“But that’s not nearly fast enough forus—the biosciences data increases at fivetimes that rate, so we’ve hit a chokepoint,” Zhang said. “Traditionalcomputing is putting more and morecomponents on smaller chips, but we’restill using the same basic technologydeveloped 30 years ago. Meanwhile,biotechnology has undergone severalrevolutions—we’re already on second-generation gene sequencing and a thirdgeneration is emerging.”

The answer lies in new computingtechnology, such as the Data Vortexsystem, which UND recently decided toadopt and will be installed in the newdata center being constructed on campusthis year.

Ultimately, computational statisticalmasters such as Zhang figure they’ve gota few tricks, too.

“We’re designing new software,including a package that will make ituser friendly,” Zhang said. “We’reconsidering speed as a major factor, andwe’re very excited about what we’redoing here at UND.”


Federal Rural Health OutreachGrants—Reaching Out in NorthDakota

Federal investment in cooperativeprograms leads to local health solutions.

Since the Rural Health Outreach grantprogram started in 1991, 25 grants havebeen awarded to various ruralorganizations in North Dakota. Thisfederal grant program is specificallydesigned for rural communities. Allapplicants must be rural and non-profitorganizations. Another key factor is thatthree separate organizations must worktogether to address local or area healthissues. By working together and sharingresources, ideas, and skills, there is agreater opportunity for a positive effect.In the 20-plus-year history of the RuralHealth Outreach Grant program, over$14 million has been invested in ruralNorth Dakota to improve health accessand outcomes.

One program funded in 2000through an Outreach grant is Pathwaysto Healthy Lives in Dickinson, N. Dak.Pathways to Healthy Lives is acommunity-based program aimed atreducing the risk of cancer andcardiovascular disease as well asdetecting them as early as possible.Pathways offers free cancer screening toresidents who live in the eight-countyarea the program serves. The objectiveof this program is to increaseaccessibility and reduce the distancepeople must travel to receivescreenings. Pathways covers thecounties in “west-river,” the eightcounties west of the Missouri insouthwestern North Dakota. The local

By Kristine Henke


partnership involves leadership from thepublic health district, hospital, andcommunity action agency in Dickinson.The Rural Mental Health Consortium(RMHC or Consortium) based out ofMinot, N.Dak., is a collaboration ofwhat was formerly UniMed MedicalCenter, which is now Trinity Health inMinot, Kenmare Community Hospital,St. Aloisius Medical Center in Harvey,St. Andrew’s Health Center in Bottineau,and Presentation Medical Center in Rolla.

The RMHC started in 1991 with a$50,000 Community Transformationgrant, funded by the Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention. This initialfunding allowed the founding membersof the Consortium to find what wasalready in existence in rural NorthDakota in terms of mental health care;what, if any need there was for care;and provide mental health education toschools and health care providers in theserviced areas. As a result, when theinitial providers associated with thisprogram went to local emergencydepartments to provide education tostaff, the emergency department staffreported a decrease in the number ofcrisis cases they see because of theearlier intervention by other health careprofessionals. Through this work, theConsortium discovered there was ahuge need for mental health care in therural communities serviced by theparticipating members.

The Consortium was able to buildsustainability and provide services withan Outreach grant they received in1994. This $500,000, three-year grantgave the Consortium the opportunity tohire clinicians to provide mental healthcare to rural North Dakotans whoreceived care from any one of thehospitals who are members of theConsortium. The Consortium foundwilling and qualified local individuals,and educated or sent them to be trainedas advanced practice registered nurses.

Collaboration is key to the vitalityof the RMHC. The participating healthcare entities provide office space,information technology support,financial and benefit management, anda “liaison” who is a full-time employee

in another capacity, but takes on thetask of coordinating and schedulingmental health appointments. Eighteenyears after its first Outreach grant, theRMHC is no longer depending onfederal grant dollars to carry out theirwork. Today, it is sustainable fromrevenue earned from clientappointments. Julli Nissen, businessmanager for the Consortium, said, “Thisis successful for us, but challenging.When we are able to provide servicesthrough a contract, we are fulfilling aneed in areas that do not haveproviders.” Unfortunately, if one daythe Consortium has a provider drivingto a rural facility and then they haveseveral cancellations, this ultimatelyaffects their bottom line. In addition tothis, the Consortium’s mental healthproviders put on a lot of miles each wayto get to their clients. This caneventually add up to burn-out, whichresults in having to search for newproviders, who can be few and farbetween. In addition to the financialburdens from the business side, Nissenshares that available means of paymentare becoming more difficult for peopleto find. This can include anything fromlack of health care insurance or othermeans to pay for services, insurancedeductibles that are too expensive, orinsurance policies lacking mental healthcoverage altogether.

Rural health leaders havechanneled their best thoughts and ideasthrough start-up grants like Rural HealthOutreach so they can better addresslocal health needs. Thanks to seedmoney from federal grant sources, theRural Mental Health Consortium andPathways to Healthy Lives continue tobe great examples of investing in localsolutions through collaborative efforts.

You might have seen them at Springfestin Grand Forks, rocking the bandstandin the early afternoon in bright, springclothes and animal suits. A crowdformed early in their performance, andby their last song, India Ink had fansscreaming for more. The unique aspect of India Inkrevolves around their ties to the UNDSchool of Medicine and Health

Sciences. The band was originallyformed in the winter of 2010 just beforethe annual UND SMHS Talent Show,which takes place every January. Theoriginal band consisted of seven medicalstudents who all, coincidentally, playdifferent instruments: Tom Miskavige onlead guitar, Charlie Lenz on lead vocals,Andrew Swenson and MichaelGreenwood on bass, Erica and Brian

Band

By Christen Furlong

Tom Miskavige, MD Class of 2012, strikes a chord in discordant garb while performing atSpringfest (photo courtesy of Cullen Donohue).

of Doctors


India Ink, a band of mostly medical students, makes its mark on the local music scene.

Sauer on keyboard, and Justin Ferraguton drums. “Tommy’s always been theboss who put it all together, but it justturned out that we had enough peoplein our class to make a whole band,”said Lenz, originally from Duluth, Minn. Since 2010, Sauer and Greenwoodmoved on to their first year of post-graduate residencies, and several of theother members have gone their separateways. But that didn’t stop India Ink fromcontinuing to perform. Today, the bandhas six members, not including guestsingers and musicians who often jointhem onstage. Two of the members,Jessica Burkholder and Mark Hovlandare undergrads majoring in biology.Hovland plans on undertaking the pathset down by his future bandmates, andBurkholder plans to apply to the PhysicianAssistant Program this summer. As a Grand Forks native, Miskavigeuses his connections to build not only afollowing for India Ink but also afoundation for concerts and appearancesfor the band. His persistence landedhim a very rare opportunity to play ashow at downtown’s Joe Blacks, anestablishment that typically refuses tohost musical events. The band remembersthe show fondly as one of the mostentertaining performances of the season.Miskavige’s promise to establishmentowners and event coordinators issimple: “You won’t be disappointed.” The band name, India Ink, mightsound unusual, a theme that resonateshappily with music fans, but to themembers, it has a particular medicalsignificance. India ink, at its most basicform, is composed of a very finevariation of soot that when combinedwith water forms a liquid great for usein pathology and microbiology withsurgically removed tissues to maintaintheir orientation or in stainingmicroorganisms on microscope slides.Medical students find themselves usingIndia ink during their second-year in theSchool, and the band members had torely on memory and one another toremember where they first encounteredit. “I just remember coming across it,and I thought that’s actually a prettycool term,” said Miskavige. “It didn’t

look like a medical word. It wassomething people could understand,but it had a meaning to us.” As they’ve passed through the yearsof medical school, learned more songs,and played more venues, the band hasdeveloped a following. “People whocome to our shows, come to everyshow,” said Andrew Swenson. “We canalways count on our crowd being there.Part of that is because medical studentsare such a tight-knit group.” Aftergraduation, Swenson will be moving toGrand Rapids, Mich., to begin hisresidency in emergency medicine. At this year’s Springfest, the bandrocked the stage by wearingflamboyantly colored outfits and animalsuits, and with their over-the-topdancing that the crowd loved. “We looklike idiots, but there’ll be a big crowd,”Miskavige predicted a few weeks beforethe show. All the members agree thatdressing up is all part of the fun ofSpringfest. India Ink has accepted its inevitablefate of dissolution after this spring asmost of the members spread out acrossthe Midwest for their residencies, butfans hope there will be a reunionsomewhere in the near future. TomMiskavige will be doing his residency ininternal medicine at Abbott NorthwesternHospital in Minneapolis and then hopesto move on to cardiology. Charlie Lenzalso plans to do his residency in internalmedicine at the Mayo Clinic, and hopesto keep some of the band going whilehe and Miskavige are relatively close inlocation. Eric Jacobson, a Fargo-nativesomewhat new to India Ink after beingrecruited after January’s talent show, isonly in his second-year of medicalschool and is unsure of what he intendsto do after graduation. The band has a Facebook page,https://www.facebook.com/IndiaInkBand,where fans can get to know the group,check out photos, or spot a lucky clipfrom a recent show.

”“It just turned out that we had enough people in our class to make a

whole band.



World enough and time separate IzaakSchafer from his occupational therapyteachers at the School of Medicine andHealth Sciences—almost seventhousand miles and nine time zones.Yet, that doesn’t come between him andhis work to become an occupationaltherapist. Staff Sergeant Schafer hasbeen stationed in Kuwait since July2011 with the 1st Combined ArmsBattalion, 194th Armor, a MinnesotaArmy National Guard Battalionheadquartered in Brainerd. The 1-194CAB is on a one-year deployment insupport of Operation New Dawn, thedrawdown phase of U.S. military

operations in Iraq, which is the secondlargest deployment of the MinnesotaNational Guard since World War II. Originally from Staples in northcentral Minnesota, Schafer’s first lovewas football, where in high school heplayed defensive back and receiver. The9/11 attacks occurred when he was ajunior in high school, after which he feltthe call to serve in the military andbegan talking to a recruiter. “I feltobligated to go in; that it was my job,”Schafer said. “I didn’t feel I was being apatriot, but that everyone needed to dotheir part.” At the same time, Schaferalso was drawing the interest of college

Helping Hands

By Denis MacLeod

STUDENT PROFILE

Steven Huft, Anne Haskins, and Izaak Schafer. The flag in the case on the shelf behind themflew over Schafer’s base overseas.

Occupational Therapy professors keep young vet on the march toward his degree.


coaches at Bemidji State, MoorheadState, and Concordia to play football forthem, but “I wanted to try my luck atUND, because all three of my brothersattended school at UND.” His brothersJosh and Mike are pilots with PinnacleAirlines, and his brother Ben is amechanical engineer with CaterpillarInc. Josh and Mike developed theirinterest in aviation from their dad whowas a private pilot. “So I figured I could try to walk onat UND,” Schafer said. “If I wasn’tsuccessful, I would go into the military.”Schafer came to UND in 2003. “When Irealized I wasn’t big enough to play, Idecided to go into the National Guard,where I could attend school and get mydegree but also serve my country.” Afterhis first semester, at age 19, he enlisted.“I took a semester off and went into themilitary.” Schafer signed on for a six-year enlistment on January 9, 2004, andcompleted basic training at Fort Knox,Ky., on July 23, 2004. He came back toUND for the fall 2004 semester.Schafer’s family has a history of militaryservice from his grandfather, who was aSeabee during WW II, to his brother,Mike, who was deployed in Bosnia whenSchafer joined the National Guard. As an undergraduate, Schafer didmaintenance work at the UNDWellness Center when it opened inSeptember 2006. After a year and a halfat the Center, he became a personaltrainer when a position opened up.After graduating from UND with aBachelor of Science in PhysicalEducation and Exercise Science inDecember 2007, he was recruited byLifetime Fitness in Maple Grove, Minn.,to be a personal trainer. Schafer is acertified strength and conditioningspecialist. He worked for five monthswhen “I realized the work wasn’t theright path for me,” Schafer said. “Iworked with rehabilitation of post-surgical patients whose insurancewouldn’t cover further rehab; they cameto Lifetime to continue their rehab. Ilooked at cardiac rehab at first andfound occupational therapy through afriend who was attending UND at thetime. While I was at Lifetime Fitness, I

worked with a 32-year-old client whohad bypass surgery. His goal was to liveto see his two-year-old child turn 18.”Encounters like this affected him morethan working with people who werealready in shape and wanted tomaintain or reach the next level offitness. “Those clients were fun to workwith, but it didn’t mean as much to me.When I started working with peoplewho really needed more help just tolive every day is what drew me tooccupational therapy.” He chose occupational therapybecause “I liked how they worked oneveryday activities,” Schafer said. Theclients he enjoyed the most whenworking at Lifetime Fitness were the“clients who wanted to be able to playwith their kids again.” Schafer hadspoken with Amos Harstad, a friendwho was an occupational therapygraduate from UND, who told Schaferto give it a shot and shadow an OT. Inthe summer of 2008, Schafer shadowedan occupational therapist at the hospitalin Staples for a couple of days,preparing the ground for pursuing acareer in OT. “I knew the staff at thehospital from working with them for myinternships in the exercise scienceprogram as an undergraduate. Whatexcited me about OT probably waswhile I shadowed the OT in Staples. Isaw how she built a rapport with herclients; she built a relationship witheach one. Clients came in and enjoyedbeing there. They were excited to seeher. That’s what I loved when clientscame in while I was a trainer: that theywere excited to be there. Every time Ishadowed her, her clients were excitedto be there. They were makingimprovements; they were accomplishingtheir goals of doing meaningful activitiesagain. She listened to her clients’ needsand wants, striving to meet their goalsrather than some arbitrary goals.” His sights now clearly focused onoccupational therapy, he came back toschool in the fall of 2008, dedicating ayear to complete the prerequisites forentry to the OT program, whichincluded shadowing OTs around GrandForks and again in Staples. For Schafer,

”“I didn’t feel I was

being a patriot, but that

everyone needed to do their part.


attending UND and serving in themilitary seem to go hand-in-hand: afterhis six-year commitment, he re-enlistedin the Guard in March of 2009. Hestarted in the OT program in thesummer of 2009. He would havegraduated in May of this year but hisoverseas duty with the Guard pushedback his graduation. At the end of hisdeployment, he will complete classesand required fieldwork this fall and nextspring, and then pursue an optionalfieldwork internship, with plans tograduate in the summer of 2013. Schafer believes joining the militarywas the right decision. “You can’t beatthe benefits the military provides,especially when it comes to pursuingmy education,” Schafer said. But itwasn’t the reason he enlisted thesecond time. “The camaraderie that Ideveloped with the guys is what droveme to enlist for another six years inMarch 2009. I developed lifelongfriends in basic training and atleadership schools I attended. Duringmy overseas deployment, I got to meeta lot more people from acrossMinnesota who were needed to fill outour battalion for our overseas mission.My second enlistment wasn’t because Iwas gung-ho. I came into the militarybecause of patriotism, but I stayed inbecause of the guys around me. Ireenlisted knowing that we would beoverseas. Elizabeth wasn’t happy aboutit, but she understood why I did it forthe guys. I felt like I would be turningmy back on them if I left the military.”The 27-year-old Schafer celebrated hissecond wedding anniversary in Maywith Elizabeth, who is a licensedpractical nurse. Their son William wasborn March 15, 2011. “He is the reasonI took my leave so late in my deployment,so I could be back for his first birthday.” Schafer is also honest about thesacrifices required in serving yourcountry. “Yes, the time it takes awayfrom your life—family life and school,”Schafer said. “I don’t think there was asemester in school where I didn’t haveto meet with my teachers to arrange fortime away from school: my unit wascalled on to provide security for the

Republican National Convention inSaint Paul and for the PresidentialInauguration in January 2009. Theydon’t give you a lot of notice. I wouldget a call on Wednesday and have toreport for duty on Friday morning. Thatis one of the things I am thankful for ingoing to school at UND. Everybodyunderstands and is willing to work withyou. I have not had a bad experienceworking with a teacher to get anexception made for a test or a class.When I went to the inauguration, I wasgoing to drop a class, but I didn’t get itdropped before the deadline because Iwas gone. I talked to the people atUND; they said they understood thecircumstances and let me drop the classwithout being charged.” Anne Haskins, PhD, OTR/L,associate professor in the Department ofOccupational Therapy, is Schafer’sadvisor. Since Schafer has beendeployed, he has been working withHaskins and Steven Huft, his thesispartner, on their senior-year scholarlyproject titled “Role Transitioning forAthletes Coping with Injury andOccupational Loss,” which exploresgetting occupational therapy involvedwith athletes who fear reinjury or whowill not be able to play again. Theirproject also took into account thetransition high school athletes mustmake to compete at the college level.“Dr. Haskins would set up Skypemeetings with me in Kuwait and stufflike that to work with me on my projectand review course material,” Schafersaid. “OT faculty came into work earlyjust so they could Skype with me beforeI ate supper or went to bed. The timedifference is nine hours ahead betweenKuwait and North Dakota. All myprofessors, Dr. Jedlicka, Dr. Fox, andDr. Zimmerman constantly e-mailedarticles to me so I stayed up to date onOT practice, which will help me nextyear when I take my certification exam.” Upon graduation, if he doesn’t goactive duty with the military in OT,Schafer might specialize in handtherapy, an interest sparked by a weekof shadowing an OT in hand therapy atAltru Hospital. Haskins background in

”“My professors made my life easier.


orthopedics has influenced Schafer tocontemplate orthopedics as a specialty,which would draw from his interest inexercise science. He also is consideringpsychosocial and inpatient rehab. “I’ve heard from people in my unitwho have struggled with their professorsat their schools when they have beendeployed,” Schafer said. “My professorsmade my life easier. I just want to thankthe faculty in general at UND, thefaculty in the Department ofOccupational Therapy as well as thefaculty in Physical Education, ExerciseScience, and Wellness for how wellthey worked with me over the years. Forthe amount of time I’ve had to miss forthe military, I appreciate howunderstanding and helpful they havebeen. It would have been a lot morestressful without their help. Forexample, last semester before I left for

overseas, they let me take my tests twoweeks in advance. They allowed me towork ahead of classes, do mypresentations earlier just so I couldspend another week with my familybefore I left. Things like that made iteasier for me and my family to dealwith preparing to be deployed.”

Izaak, Elizabeth, and William Schafer


ALUMNI NOTES

Jessica Carlson, MD ’08, recentlybecame board-certified through theAmerican Board of Family Medicine.Carlson practices family medicine atMedcenter One in Bismarck.

Jill Klemin, MD ’07, recently becameboard-certified through the AmericanBoard of Family Medicine. Kleminpractices family medicine atMedcenter One in Bismarck.

Rebekah Tompkins, MD ’06, recentlyjoined the team at Sanford Health inWahpeton, specializing in obstetricsand gynecology.

Joshua Gapp, MD ’04, has joinedKDL Pathology, a privately heldspecialty pathology group thatprovides comprehensive testing forskin and ophthalmic disease. Gapp isa member of the American MedicalAssociation and the AmericanSociety of Dermatopathology.

Becky Dockter, MPT ’01, has beenhired by Orthopedic and SportsPhysical Therapy in Breckenridge,Minn. Dockter specializes inlymphedema management as well aspostural restoration techniques.

Jonathan Haug, MD ’01, wasrecently appointed to a four-yearterm on the North Dakota StateBoard of Medical Examiners byNorth Dakota Governor JackDalrymple. Haug is ananesthesiologist and chair of theDepartment of Anesthesiology atAltru Hospital in Grand Forks.

Gretchen Fawcett, PA ’01, recentlyreceived the Physician Assistant HeroAward from Health Monitormagazine, which is affiliated with theAmerican Academy of PhysicianAssistants. “Gretchen is not just aphysician assistant,” said the patientwho nominated her. “She is my,Friend, my Angel, and my Hero!”Fawcett works for Table Grove

Family Practice in Table Grove, Ill. Read more athttp://bit.ly/LsRcry.

Got news?We want to hear it!

Please send your news items for the next issue of North Dakota Medicine to Kristen Peterson:

[email protected] or call 701.777.4305.

’00s


Biron Baker, MD, ’95, was recentlyhonored through UND’s More ThanBeads and Feathers poster campaign,which this year featured ninesuccessful American Indian graduatesrepresenting various majors at UNDand the tribes of the state of NorthDakota. Baker is a family practicephysician at Baker Family Medicinein Bismarck. He is an enrolled

member of the Mandan-Hidatsa Tribe. For moreinformation about the More Than Beads and Feathercampaign, visit www.und.edu/americanindian/.

Irfan Vaziri, IM Res ’92, began patient care in April at PerkinsCounty Health Services in North Platte, Neb. Vaziri isboard-certified in both oncology and hematology and willtreat patients with all types of solid tumor cancers as well asthose with blood disorders such as leukemia.

Genevieve Goven, MD ’90, wasrecently appointed to a four-yearterm on the North Dakota StateBoard of Medical Examiners byNorth Dakota Governor JackDalrymple. Goven is a familypractice doctor at the Sanford HealthValley City Clinic.

Richard Vetter, MD ’88, has beenelected to a two-year term as chair ofthe Dakota Medical Foundationboard in Fargo.

Kirsten Peterson, MD ’87, recentlybegan practicing internal medicine atAltru Health Systems in Grand Forks.

Kevin Fickenscher, MD ’78, was recently appointed chairof the Intelligent InSites Healthcare Advisory Board.Intelligent InSites, Inc. is a provider of enterprise real-timelocation systems software, helping hospitals improve patientcare and increase health care efficiency. Fickenscher ispresident and chief executive officer of the AmericanMedical Informatics Association and the founder of CREOStrategic Solutions, LLC.

’70s

’90s

ALUMNI NOTES

’80s

Got news?We want to hear it!Please send your news items for the next issue of North Dakota Medicineto Kristen Peterson:[email protected] or call 701.777.4305.


Native SonMayo physician has championed prevention and wellness for decades.By Denis MacLeod

Donald Hensrud, his daughter Gabrielle, a junior atCentury High School in Rochester, and SMHS

Director of Development Dave Miedema pose infront of the Alumni Center. The Hensruds

were on campus in April to tour UND.

ALUMNI PROFILE


In the early story of our lives, ourlife’s purpose is sometimes dimly lit.People and experiences unbeknown tous will eventually help to illuminate ourgoal. Such was true of Grand Forksnative Donald Hensrud, BS ’80, BS Med’82, whose path to a successful medicalcareer was enlightened by teachers andhis family. He is chair of the Division ofPreventive, Occupational, andAerospace Medicine, and associateprofessor of preventive medicine andnutrition at Mayo Clinic College ofMedicine in Rochester, Minn. Hensrudis certified by the American Board ofInternal Medicine, the American Boardof Preventive Medicine, and theAmerican Board of Physician NutritionSpecialists, of which he is a pastpresident. He was the editor of TheMayo Clinic Diet, a New York TimesNo. 1 best seller, and award-winningMayo Clinic cookbooks, one of whichwon a 2005 James Beard Foundationaward. He has three children: Gabrielle,17, Alexandra, 13, and Isaac, 10. “When I was in high school, I had ateacher who instilled in me an interestin medicine,” Hensrud said. “He waskind of a role model. But I wasintimidated after hearing stories abouthow difficult it is.” Hensrud’s motivation to pursuemedicine came from ClarenceThompson, his biology teacher atCentral High School. “In my senioryear, I took a course from him that hedeveloped, it might have been the firstyear it was offered, called MedicalBiology. He told me that he wished hewould have gone into medicine. Hereally helped me out; he helped me geta scholarship at UND.” “I had a pretty modest background.”Hensrud said. As a high school student,he worked at the Red Pepper restaurant,a local favorite of high school andcollege students. “Law didn’t interestme, so the next best thing wasengineering. I spent three years as anengineering student.” But thoughts of a medical careerabided. “I did pretty well in engineering,and thought that maybe I could handlemedicine. I had a talk with my mother,

and she encouraged me. After speakingwith her, I decided to pursue what wasreally my passion.” “So I switched to premed, and didreasonably well.” He graduated with aBachelor of Science in Natural Sciencesin 1980, and that fall started medicalschool at UND. Hensrud’s sister, TammyHensrud, is also a UND graduate,receiving her Bachelor of Music in 1981and a Master of Music as well as aMaster of Arts in 1984. She was aFulbright Scholar in Stuttgart, Germany;and performed in opera houses inGermany and across Europe as well asfor the Cleveland Opera, MetropolitanOpera, and New York City Opera. Shesang opera in Germany for eight yearsand has served on the faculty of HofstraUniversity since 2004 as an adjunctassociate professor of voice. Hensrud’s incoming class was thelast to have part of the class transfer outafter two years of study. NancyFurstenberg was the associate dean forStudent Affairs. At that time, the Schoolwould get in contact with other medicalschools to see if they had a positionopen or someone had dropped out orthey were expanding. “UND had agood reputation, and they would workwith people and send them all over thecountry,” Hensrud said. “I wanted to gowest. Dean Furstenberg encouragedPeder Svingen, myself, and others toapply to the University of Hawaii, andPeder and I ended up going.” “I am from Grand Forks, and spentseven years on this campus, and I lovedit, but it was time to see somethingelse,” Hensrud said. “It took about ayear to adjust, but once I did, it was agood experience.” He received his MDfrom the University of Hawaii. Whilelooking at residency programs, Hensrudremembers coming back to Grand Forksto talk to Reed Keller, chair of InternalMedicine from 1973 to 1991. “He wasa wonderful person. He was an icon.” “I looked at a lot of programs,mostly on the West Coast. I likedHawaii, so I decided to either stay thereand go through their program and hangout at the North Shore or I was going togo to Mayo Clinic and get what I

”“ We’ve got to

help people do what they can to improve

their health in a realistic, effective, but enjoyable way.


thought would be the best training.” Hethought he would go to Mayo for threeyears and then go back to Hawaii. “ButMayo has a way of growing on you.” For his residency, Hensrud wasdrawn to specialize in preventivemedicine in part because of hisbackground in athletics. “I played sportsat Central for Dick Vinger and RonBergh.” As an undergraduate at UND,he pitched for Pinky Kraft’s baseballteam. “Since I had switched majors, Iwent five years as an undergrad, and Istayed on as a TA assistant coach forPinky during my fifth year. I rememberUND President TomClifford had to sign offon my being a TA. Iwas a littleintimidated, but whata guy. I walked intohis office, and he saidwith a big smile onhis face as he signedthe agreement, ‘Soyou’re going to coacha little baseball for usthis year? Good luck!’I’ll never forget that.” “Being in sports, I was interested inhealth in general,” Hensrud said. “Atthat time there wasn’t the emphasis onwellness as there is now. But,intuitively, staying active and goodnutrition made sense to me. So I startedgetting interested in it when I was incollege.” Hensrud developed a furtherinterest in medical school. “I alwayswanted to do something in wellness andprevention and nutrition. I didn’t knowwhat, because I didn’t have any mentorsat that time. There was a lot ofcontroversy and confusion and quackeryout there. I wanted to try and do it theright way and get a good foundation. SoI thought internal medicine would giveme a good broad background.” He completed his three-yearinternal medicine residency at Mayo,followed by a two-year preventivemedicine fellowship also at Mayo, anda two-year nutrition fellowship at theUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham,where he received his MS in NutritionScience. Hensrud also earned an MPH

at the University of Minnesota. Hensrud’smedical and public health expertise andthat of other physicians like him will benecessary on the frontlines of the healthcrisis facing the United States. On oneside, the Centers for Disease Control,the Institute of Medicine, and othershave partnered to sound the alarmabout the nation’s obesity epidemic,whereas on the other side, Americansare inundated daily with images of thefantasy world of the “thinspirationculture,” where people look up tomodels as the ultimate cosmeticexample to pursue rather than the path

of moderation andoverall health.

“There areonly a fewsupermodels in theworld, but manymillions of peoplewith obesity,”Hensrud said. “We’vegot a real problemthat has developedover the past 30 to 40years with obesity andinactivity. We’ve got

to help people do what they can toimprove their health in a realistic,effective, but enjoyable way.” “Our environment has changed somuch. Millions of people didn’t decideto gain weight. There are powerfulforces that are determining this. Look atall the factors that influence what weeat. We’ve also engineered physicalactivity out of our lives. We are notworking in the fields anymore. Even thepeople who are, are using technology.People are involved with computers,video games, and all kinds of ‘step-saving’ activities more than they arewith physical activity.” “It’s human nature in how weevolved. Five thousand years ago theperson who ate the most and did theleast activity was the one who survived.That’s our inner brain and we still thinklike that because way back then it had asurvival advantage. We have to make aconscious effort to outsmart our limbicbrain and those powerful drives thathave helped to reshape the environment

”“ We have to make a conscious effort to outsmart our limbic brainand those powerful drives that have helped to

reshape the environment anduse that to our advantage.


and use that to our advantage. I believeit was Einstein who said, ‘We shall requirea substantially new manner of thinkingif mankind is to survive.’ We have toreverse the inertia in the environmenttoday regarding lack of physical activityand suboptimal nutrition.” Progress is being made, Hensrudadmits, but he says it is challenging.“Academia, government, the privatesector (businesses), health care andpublic health, and the builtenvironment are all going to have tocome together,” he said. “Somecompanies actually have been the mostaggressive, because they see theirbottom line change. Ultimately that’sthe way the world goes around.Economics is going to drive this.” For Hensrud, effective change inthe health of people is really a matter ofgetting back to basics. “Look at thethings that we can change, thepreventable causes of death: smoking isNo. 1, diet, activity, and weight follow.Behavior change in these areas canhave a much more powerful effect thanpeople realize. The data are there. Butthere are objective data and there aresubjective factors. And it is thesubjective factors that often influenceour behavior: what we grew up eating,food availability, cost, marketing, tastepreferences, convenience, all thosekinds of things. So I think we need toacknowledge the objective data, butalso realize that we don’t make changesbased on that. We have to come upwith effective ways to manage thesubjective factors. It is ironic that I havegone to school for a long time to beable to tell people to eat more fruits andvegetables. But it’s so powerful, andpeople don’t realize the difference itcan make in the long run; it’s huge. Youhave to take that and present it in such away that it motivates people. That itisn’t drudgery. It can be a wonderfullifestyle. People say, ‘When I was moreactive, I felt better.’ We should useexamples such as that to help peoplemake changes in their lives." What advice would Hensrud givecurrent students? “Don’t lose youridealism. I think a lot of medical

students start out with some idealismand interests such as helping people, analtruistic outlook, and perhaps moreinterest in the lifestyle area. Butsomehow these views seem to changeas they go through their training. Ibecame interested in prevention earlyon and didn’t want to lose that, so Imade a conscious decision not to.” First and foremost, Hensrud said,“Follow your passion. When I started inschool, I had no idea of where I wouldend up or what I would do. But I’mhappy I followed this path, and I’mgrateful to UND for helping me getstarted.”

Donald Hensrud


The Department of Internal Medicine, located on theSoutheast Campus in Fargo, is one of the largest clinicalscience departments of the UND School of Medicine andHealth Sciences.

Faculty members from the department actively supportthe preclinical, third-year clerkship, fourth-year InternalMedicine electives and additional educational activities(e.g., research) of medical students. Academic andcommunity faculty members play key roles educationallyand administratively in the Internal Medicine andTransitional Year Residency Programs. Department facultyalso play important roles in the administrative aspects of theSchool as dean, the designated institutional official, the VAdean, and three of the four campus deans. Our 15academic faculty members and nearly 300 communityfaculty members continue to be key providers of bothclinical health care and general medical education servicesto the state and region. Internal Medicine faculty memberswin numerous awards acknowledging their leadership andprofessionalism.

Research activities by both community and academicfaculty have been presented locally, regionally, nationally,and internationally. Four research grants were awarded toour faculty this year, and several faculty participate innationwide clinical trials.

Internal medicine has been the leading discipline in thedevelopment of clinical epidemiology. The Department ofInternal Medicine at the School teaches students andresidents the fundamentals of clinical epidemiology byproviding learners with the necessary skills in clinicalresearch methods. Residents pursue topics about whichthey feel passionate and support applications for fellowship.

Internal Medicine faculty contribute extensively toyears one and two of block education at the School inGrand Forks and are responsible for all internal medicinethird- and fourth-year student activities. Third-year internal

medicine experiences are offered on all four clinicalcampuses and all ROME (Rural Opportunities in MedicalEducation) sites. Additionally, fourth-year medical studentshave both required general internal medicine and electivesubspecialty experiences on all four campuses. TheSchool’s graduates pursue internal medicine residencies inthe country’s finest residency programs, often returning topursue their academic and clinical careers in North Dakota.

Residency ActivitiesThe Department of Internal Medicine sponsors an internalmedicine residency on the Fargo campus with 24 residents.Following completion of this three-year residency,graduates begin the practice of general internal medicine,become specialists in hospital medicine, or pursuesubspecialty fellowships. Over the past 10 years, 58 percentof graduates have returned to practice in North Dakota.

Additionally, the Department of Internal Medicine is acosponsor of the transitional year residency with eightresidents per year. Graduates of this program go on topursue more advanced training but often return to practicein North Dakota following completion of their advancedresidency.

In summary, the Department of Internal Medicinesponsors and supports a large range of educational,research, and clinical care activities in North Dakota.Graduates of our residency program provide theunderpinnings of internal medicine care in the state. Thedepartment is proud of its almost 40-year devotion toimproving the medical education and clinical care ofNorth Dakotans.

SPOTLIGHTINTERNAL MEDICINE

By William Newman, MDAssistant Dean, Veterans AffairsChair and Professor, Department of Internal MedicineChief, Division of Endocrinology, Veterans Affairs MedicalCenter Fargo

Left to right: Dr. Michael Greenwood, MD ’11 and transitionalyear resident; Dr. M. Samir Toumeh, internal medicine resident’08, Sanford Hospitalist, and clinical assistant professor ofinternal medicine; Dr. Rekha Kallamadi, program year (PGY)three internal medicine resident; and Dr. Rishi Seth, PGY-1internal medicine resident. Photo courtesy of Michael K. Smith,Sanford Health Marketing.

EducationResearch

Better Care+


Some of the first multidisciplinary research endeavorsoccurred between microbiogists and immunologistsstudying host:pathogen interactions, now oftentimes looselytermed infectious disease (ID) research. The ID researchgroup at UND has a strong record of collaborative researchboth across the host–pathogen interface and beyond traditionalmicrobiology and immunology. The addition of BibhutiMishra, PhD, this past October strengthened this group’scollaborative possibilities, both within and outside ID.

Mishra’s research focuses on two areas of host immuneresponses to helminth (intestinal parasite) infections: howparasites evade or suppress the host immune response andthe specific role of myeloid (bone marrow) derivedsuppressor cells (MDSCs) in parasitic infections. One of theparasites studied in Mishra’s laboratory, Taenia solium(pork tapeworm), can cause a variety of symptoms fromheadaches and dizziness to neurocysticercosis (Mishra’sarea of interest), which can lead to epilepsy, seizures, andlesions in the brain, with 50 million people affected and50,000 dying each year worldwide. In understanding howthe parasite evades the host’s immune response, Mishra hasidentified both specific parasitic molecules that areimmunosuppressive as well as the potential of the parasitesto hijack normal blood cell differentiation, resulting in theproduction of MDSCs, a newly described immunoregulatorycell type that suppress the functions of T-cells, which areimportant in the body’s immune response, by downregulating the proliferation and activation of T-cells.Characterization of these two phenomena has resulted incollaboration with Drs. Brij Singh (Biochemistry andMolecular Biology) and Jyotika Sharma and David Bradley(Microbiology and Immunology).

Interestingly, helminths can live within their hosts foryears, and yet, many infected individuals are asymptomatic,while others exhibit acute and chronic pathologies leadingto severe morbidity and a major impact on socioeconomicdevelopment in endemic areas. In light of helminths’extensive regulation of host inflammatory responses, it hasbeen proposed that the increased cases of autoimmunity inthe developed world could be a direct result of thesuccessful eradication of parasitic helminths in thesecommunities. Thus, in addition to understanding theimmune evasion or suppression by Taenia solium thatcauses significant health issues worldwide, Mishra is alsoattempting to utilize the parasite-derivedimmunosuppressive molecules or the MDSCs or both totherapeutically address a variety of autoimmune/inflammatorydisease conditions. This has also led to numerous

collaborations at UND, including the potential of theparasitic molecules to suppress rheumatoid arthritis (Dr.David Bradley), sepsis (Dr. Jyotika Sharma), and obesity andAlzheimer ’s disease (Dr. Colin Combs, Pharmacology,Physiology, and Therapeutics). The goal of this work is toidentify specific triggers of immunosuppression, possiblyutilizing the newly described MDSC population, that couldbe synthesized and commercially developed to treat a rangeof inflammatory diseases, including autoimmune diseases,obesity, and sepsis.

While the microbiologists and immunologistscollaborate extensively with each other to understand therelationships at the junction of the host and pathogen, theID group has numerous collaborations outside of their twodisciplines, including studies of inflammation and infectionsof the central nervous system with UND neuroscientists, therole of infection and inflammation in obesity with scientistsat the USDA Human Nutrition Center, and the potentialnanotechnology and alternative natural sources fortherapeutics and vaccines with UND biologists, chemists,and several regional biotechnology companies. “Thecontinued development and expansion of this kind ofmultidisciplinary research is the best chance for success inunderstanding and then treating or preventing infectiousdiseases,” said David Bradley, chair and associate professor,in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. “Thecurrent ID group understands and aggressively pursuesthese collaborations, and this will lead to additionalfuture funding and scientific successes.”

SPOTLIGHTMICROBIOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGY

Submitted by the Department

Infectious Disease Research

Back row: David Bradley, Clint Schmidt, and Bibhuti Mishra. Front row: Kate Claycombe, Catherine Brissette, and Jyotika Sharma.

The ID group builds key research collaborations within UND and beyond.

Making a gift that lives “forever” would seem to be theultimate benefit that investors inthe School of Medicine andHealth Sciences could ever hopeto receive from their acts of generosity.• Imagine a gift that can be

made today and still beliving and giving decadesfrom now.

• Imagine a gift that can benamed for the investors,parents, other specialrelatives, or friends, forevercarrying forward to newgenerations valuedprinciples and ideals.

• Imagine a gift that will growin value over time, all thewhile providing meaningfulallocations to assist theUND School of Medicineand Health Sciences students, faculty, and departmentsin their continuing quest for excellence.

Such a gift is possible and is known as a named endowment. The popularity of these “gifts that live forever” has grown substantially over the years, kindled inpart by most everyone’s desire to leave the world a betterplace—to leave their mark. But hand-in-hand with honoring and rememberingloved ones is the satisfaction that our investors experience,knowing their gift will live in perpetuity and will aid in thecontinued growth and development of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Dr. Steve (BS Med ’61) and Sue Laxdal established anamed endowment within the UND Foundation and expressed their feelings this way: “Creating a named endowment allowed us to achieve our goal to provide atruly meaningful gift that we know will help fund qualityeducational opportunities for many future generations ofyoung aspiring medical professionals.” A named endowment can be established from a varietyof direct and deferred giving arrangements. For example, anamed endowment can be funded with an immediate gift ofcash, securities, other property, or by a testamentary provision in one’s will or living trust. The UND Foundation currently administers more than1,000 named endowments. A simple written agreement between investors and the UND Foundation clearly directshow allocations will be utilized each year. Investors also receive a comprehensive financial report on their endowment,including an overview of investment performance. Those who benefit from a named endowment will helpshape and guide this world for generations to come. Whatfiner investment could there be? I encourage you to contact me, and let’s begin the conversation.

By Dave Miedema

GIFT PLANNING

Named Endowments

For additional information on how to best structure yourbequest or gift to benefit the School of Medicine and HealthSciences, please contact:

Dave Miedema, Director of DevelopmentSchool of Medicine and HealthSciencesUND [email protected](701) 777-4933(800) 543-8764


Dean Joshua Wynne; Angela Eakin, MD 2012, and Director of Development Dave Miedema

IN MEMORIAM

John Allen DeKrey, BS Med ’56, age 86 Fort Collins, Colo.,died April 19, 2012. He was born in Pettibone, N.Dak.,August 13, 1925, to Charles and Lillian DeKrey. He enlistedin the Naval Reserves and served in the Pacific duringWorld War II, returning to attend Jamestown College,where he met and married Sybil Mae Smith of Kulm,N.Dak. Together John and Sybil taught in high schoolsaround rural North Dakota until the Navy reactivated himfor the Korean conflict. Afterward, John joined thecommissioned ranks and entered medical school at theUniversity of North Dakota, graduating from SouthwesternMedical School in Dallas, Texas, in 1958. He completed aninternship at St. John’s Hospital in Fargo and an anesthesiaresidency at Swedish Hospital in Seattle before returning toactive duty with the Navy. John was assigned to NavalHospital San Diego where he remained until retiring in1984. In addition to his inpatient clinical practice, hetrained medical students, provided medical support inCuba, Haiti, and Vietnam, and developed new techniquesof regional anesthesia. John rose to the rank of captain andchaired the Department of Anesthesia. John is survived bychildren Lesley DeKrey, Juneau, Alaska, and GregoryDeKrey, Loveland, Colo.; siblings, Lillian DeKrey, Velva,N.Dak., Dorinne DeKrey, Ames, Iowa, Florence Hieggelke,Fargo, N.Dak., Iris Leuhr, Helena, Mont., Joyce Hasle,Woodbridge, Va., and Charles Ross DeKrey, (and secondwife, MayElla Dring, Willow Springs, Mo.), of Bismarck,N.Dak. He is predeceased by his wife Sybil; as well assisters, Elna DeKrey and Elaine Leuhr, Pettibone; andcanine companion, Sarah.

Nadine Miller, BS PT ’88, age 46, of Chaska, Minn., diedFriday, Feb. 24, 2012, at Fairview University MedicalCenter in Minneapolis. Nadine was born Jan. 21, 1966, inGolden Valley, Minn., to Harvey and Lilah (Larson)Hammer. She was one of three children. Nadine grew up inPaynesville, Minn., and was a graduate of the University ofNorth Dakota with a degree in physical therapy. She hasworked at North Memorial Hospital, Trevilla of GoldenValley, and Integrated Health Care Services. Preceding herin death was her dad Harvey Hammer; infant brotherDonald; and father-in-law Dave Spanier. Survivors includeher husband of 23 years Troy; daughters Kiera and Ellie;mom Lilah Hammer of Paynesville, Minn.; sister, Laurel(Chris Bissener) Hammer of Denver, Colo.; brothers-in-law,Terry (Lisa) Miller of Grove City, Minn., Todd (Jackie)Spanier of Paynesville, Minn., Tory (Sarah) Spanier ofMontrose; mother-in-law, Geri Spanier of Paynesville,Minn.; and many other relatives and friends.

Rita R. Kubal, BS PT ’92, age 43—wife, mother, daughter,sister, aunt, and friend — entered the everlasting peace ofher Father near Scotland, S.Dak. On December 14, 1968,Rita Jackson was born to Darrel and Mary Ann (Bradley)Jackson of Wessington Springs, S.Dak. Rita attendedNorthern State University in Aberdeen, S.Dak., beforetransferring to Mount Marty College in Yankton, S.Dak. Sheserved the sisters at St. Joseph Care Center as a nurse’sassistant and attended the University of North Dakota,where she completed a degree in physical therapy. On May17, 1993, she was married to Dan Kubal of rural Lesterville,S.Dak. She worked at the Menno nursing home, theFreeman hospital, the Tyndall Hospital, the Yankton CareCenter, and Sacred Heart Hospital throughout the years.She served the Sioux people at Indian Health Services inWagner, S.Dak. Rita was preceded in death by her fatherDarrel Jackson, brother Mark Edward Jackson, nieceJennifer Reed, and grandparents. She is survived byhusband, Dan Kubal, her children, Dana, Elizabeth, Kohl,John, and Kaleb, all from rural Lesterville, S.Dak., hermother, Mary Jackson of Lane, S.Dak, and her ten siblingsand siblings’ spouses, Steve, John, and Kelly Jackson, allfrom Lane, S.Dak., Tim and Laura Jackson of Woonsocket,S.Dak., Travis and Karen Jackson of Lane, S.Dak., Mary andBill Reed of Gillette, Wyo., Sandy and Michael Neth ofScotland, S.Dak., Lori and Bob Schleich of Mitchell, S.Dak.,Tim and Linda Foos of Milbank, S.Dak., and Michele andJeff Bigelow of Mitchell, S.Dak.

Deane Stites, BS Med ’72, 65, died April 23, 2012. Deanewas born February 22, 1947, in Oakes, N.Dak. Hegraduated from Oakes High in 1965 and attended theUniversity of North Dakota, where he received a BS in1969 and a Master of Science in Physiology andPharmacology in 1972. He earned his MD from TuftsUniversity in 1975, and completed his orthopedic residencyat UC San Francisco in 1979. Deane started his orthopedicpractice in Truckee, Calif., in 1979, and soon became aboard-certified orthopedic surgeon. He served severalappointments as chief of staff of Tahoe Forest Hospital,taught as a clinical instructor for UNR and UC Davis, andwas a member of the Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.Deane is survived by his wife, Sue Stites; his children, Ryanand Anneliese, Alison and Ty, and Julie; his grandchildren,Bodi, Jaxson, Kinley, Finnegan, and Resi; his brothers,Randy, Tom and Syl, and Greg and Nancy.



Congratulations, Grads!

MD CLASS OF 2012Row 1 (left to right) INMED Director Eugene DeLorme; Assistant Dean Thomas Hill; Assistant Dean Patrick Carr; Assistant DeanKenneth Ruit; Associate Dean Nicholas Neumann; Associate Dean Charles Christianson; Senior Associate Dean Gwen W. Halaas; DeanJoshua Wynne; Associate Dean Randy Eken; Associate Dean Julie Blehm; Assistant Dean Martin Rothberg; Assistant Dean Jon Allen;Interim Associate Dean Robert Beattie; Assistant Dean William Newman; and Assistant Dean Steffen Christensen.

Row 2 (left to right) Susan Derry; Archana Varma; Laura Matzke Bitterman; Jenna Cusic; Elizabeth Hagan; Angela Eakin; ChristineCarlson Rahn; Melissa Austreim; Katie Wetsch, and James Miles.

Row 3 (left to right) Mark Detwiller; Erica Sauer; Colin Fitterer; Kailey Witt; Lindsay Carlile; Morgan Grundstad; Amber Tincher; KassiRoselius; Seth Maliske; and Patrick Britton.

Row 4 (left to right) Christopher Irmen; Stephanie Foughty; Amanda Dhuyvetter; Lance Doeden; Eric Ragland; Melanie McCarroll;Brianna MacQueen; Justin Ferragut; Elizabeth Blixt; and Diane Voeller.

Row 5 (left to right) Gwen Thompson; Michelle Reinholdt; Kristen Fried; Cody Pratt; Tiffany Doyle; Adam McGauvran; KatherineNeubauer; Andrew Swenson; and Ray Rivas.

Row 6 (left to right) Meredith Reisenauer; Rochelle Palmiscno; Jess Belling; Kathleen Carlson; Jennifer Risan; Jennifer Brottlund; SarahTillman; Thomas Miskavige; Jennifer Wolf; and Amy Stokka.

Row 7 (left to right) John Wagener; Luke Roller; Robert Marshall; Derek Kuntz; Brett Oestreich; Justin Mauch; Nathan Harris; KathrynMcEvoy; Aaron Audet; and Charles Lenz.

Not pictured: Adam Cole and Sarah Cole.

PARTING SHOTS


Occupational Therapy Class of 2012Front row, left to right: Jenna McGregor, Lindsey Wolsky, Kelli Atkinson, Amanda Ralston, Stephanie Blonigen, Crystal Brecht,Allison Kalb, Lindsey Sauer, Kathryn Zavarol, Amy Ferguson, Amanda Rositas, Chelsey Ekren, and Michael Nelson. Back row, left to right: Cody Link, Gregory Holubok, Elizabeth Reynolds, Chanae Jones, Brittany Mayer, Danielle Schepers, ChristaHaas, Meghan Lyle, Lindsay Farkas, Nicole Knutson, Amanda Myklebust, Elizabeth Schleicher, Andrea Hensrud, and Diane Huettl.

Doctor of Physical Therapy Class of 2012Front row, left to right: Kelsey Hest, Keith Bluel, Jonathan Jurgens, Stephanie Pohia, Miranda Johnson, Marissa Laddusaw, HayleyLetvin, Sasha Berg, Brittany Brenny, Rachael Peterson, Sheena Dauer, and Elizabeth Kornkven.Row 2, left to right: Jill Halstenson, Trevor Northagen, Christine Jensen, Alyssa Carignan, Allison Breker, Katelin Sievert, AshleyGunkelman, Lindsey Nelson, Whittney Gomendi, Elizabeth Hoff, Whitney Reyerson, and Amanda Hawrelok.Row 3, left to right: Jennifer Hohl, Erik Jensen, Benjamin Wolden, Ashley Falk, Bruce Belland, Jennifer Pallansch, Kristine Dahlheimer,Deena Hansen, Brittany Kohler, Michael Schmidt, and David Farder.Row 4, left to right: Megan Koelln, Ryan Enger, Michael Hildahl, Rebecca Shane, Craig Turnow, Jessica Gertken, Will Slocum, StevenHalcrow, Brittany Hagen, and Brady Swenson.


2012 Physicians Assistant GraduatesFront row, left to right: Gina Hester, KarenBelvin, Lin Hodges, Mendy Corter, andJoyce Laktari.

Back row, left to right: Ronald Caporale,Nikki Welk, Susan Ogden-McKee, MindyRupprecht, Angela Mathiason, NatalieWhitley, Paul Kelley, Dr. Vikki McCleary,Thao Lo, Casey Burch, and Reginald Joseph.

2012 Physicians Assistant GraduatesFront row, left to right: Valerie Krebs,Anna Stelter, Tamara Perez, JadonRedington, Ashley Jones, and BradHirst.

Back row, left to right: David Conner,Jennifer Van Hecke, Sherrie McCoy,Lacey Langerak, Julie Andersson(faculty), Josh Arickx, Jeff Moberg,April Burns, Lori Wolff, MatthewMassmann, and Erika Hunt.

2012 Physicians Assistant GraduatesFront row, left to right: Tania Dickson-Humphries, Joshua Killpack, Shad Brophy,Sheila Bondell, Art Renner, Jennifer Jallo,and Jesse Doll.

Back row, left to right: Dr. Susan Kuntz,Steve Norman, Dave LaBore, JillianJacobson, Jennifer Schneider, Jennifer Asche,Christine Brandt, Keith Hatch, AmandaPratt, Corbin Moberg, and Brian Dewitt.


Medical Laboratory Science Class of 2012Front row, left to right: Mahammed Isse,Casey Myklebust, Michael Pitzer, and AdamDeyoung.

Back row, left to right: Kayla Pazdernik,Kayla Lee, Hana Tibebu, Michelle Thomas,Cass Roberts, Brittany Monson, HannahKennedy, Carly Rudolpf, and BreannaHenke.

2012 INMED GraduatesFront row, left to right: Amber Tincher, Susan Derry, Estelle Ostgard, Alexis Jones, Cassie Roselius, Katheryn McEvoy, Brittany Crawford, and Jeri Ann Azure.

Back row, left to right: Gerald Yutrzenka, University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine; Eugene DeLorme, INMED director;Jan Goodwin, Nutrition and Dietetics; Vern Lambert, Spirit Lake Nation; Susan Splichal, Family and Community Medicine; Jim Malatare, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes; Gwen W. Halaas, senior associate dean; David Gipp, Standing RockSioux Tribe; and Joshua Wynne, UND vice president for Health Affairs and dean.

University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health SciencesA National Leader in Rural Health - Serving North Dakota since 1905501 North Columbia Road Stop 9037 � Grand Forks ND � 58202-9037 701-777-4305 www.med.und.edu

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